


tournesol

by angstandcaffeine



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 21:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstandcaffeine/pseuds/angstandcaffeine
Summary: Throndir's got a crush on the new regular customer at the flower shop.





	tournesol

The bell chimed, telling Throndir that a new customer had walked in. He looked up. “Hello!”

The customer was a tall man, with bright red hair and an all black suit. He glanced around frantically, rifling through bouquets and apparently ignoring him.

Throndir stepped out from behind the counter. “Can I help you find something?”

“Oh,” he said, sheepishly, as if he hadn’t realized Throndir was there. “Yeah, I uh, I’ve been told I need to pick up flowers for a work meeting that started five minutes ago. Gotta love bosses.”

Throndir smirked a little at that. “Okay. What kind of flowers are you looking for?”

The man shrugged. “Pretty ones?”

Throndir laughed. He paused for a second, thinking. “How about sunflowers?” he offered. “In my experience, everyone likes sunflowers.”

“Sounds great. I’ll take two dozen.”

“Sure. Pick whichever bunches you like, and I’ll ring you up here.”

The man picked the two closest ones and walked to the counter. As the credit card processed, Throndir studied him. He was… Well, he was gorgeous. There really wasn’t any other word for it.

“Thank you,” the customer said, eyes dipping down to check his name tag, “Throndir. Hey, that’s a nice name.”

“Oh,” he said, blushing just a little. “Thanks. Have a nice day!”

The customer flashed him a smile, and with another bell chime, left the flower shop.

Throndir sighed loudly, heart still pounding. “Everything okay?” his coworker Adaire called from the back.

“Yeah,” he called back, “He was just… pretty.”

Adaire cackled.

***

It was a week later, and Throndir was busy helping a woman put together a bouquet for her girlfriend. When the bell over the door chimed, Throndir called out, “I’ll be right with you!” over his shoulder.

“No worries.” Throndir recognized the voice as the cute guy from last week. His nerves started to build in his chest, just a bit. Well, maybe this time if he wasn’t in a rush, he could talk to him more. You know, maybe actually find out his name instead of just referring to him as “the cute guy” in his head.

Not that Throndir had been, you know, thinking about him.

As he took the woman to the register to ring her up, he peeked over her shoulder. The man swept his hair off to the side, revealing the piercings in his ear. This time, he was wearing a white shirt that was somewhere between a blouse and a button up, with bright red slacks that matched his hair. Throndir wrapped up as quickly as he could, then headed over to help him.

“Hey there,” Throndir said. “Looking for more sunflowers, or...?”

“Oh,” he said, looking up from the hydrangea. His face had gone slightly pink. “I didn’t think you’d remember me.”

Throndir’s tongue tripped over excuses. “It’s my job to remember. You know, customer service and all that.” Throndir hoped he wasn’t blushing.

“Fair enough.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Ephrim, by the way. Seems weird that I know your name and you don’t know mine.”

 _Ephrim._ He shook his hand. “Well, Ephrim, what can I help you with?”

“I think they liked the flowers too much last week, because now my boss is insisting that I get him flowers for a meeting I don’t even have to go to.”

“So you need ‘fuck off’ flowers.”

Ephrim laughed, eyes bright. “Exactly.”

Throndir hummed. “Begonias mean beware,” he said, gesturing across the room, “but nothing says, ‘I don’t want to have to buy any more flowers’ more than a plain dozen daisies.” He grabbed a bunch. “Pleasing, but utterly forgettable.”

“You’re my hero,” Ephrim grinned.

Okay, that time Throndir definitely blushed. He ducked his head to try to hide it. “Anything else?”

“No, I think I’m good for now.”

They made their way over to the register. “So,” Throndir asked, grasping at anything to keep talking to Ephrim, “what do you do? What kind of meeting are these flowers for?”

“Oh, I work at a tech startup,” he said dismissively. “For now.”

“For now?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m in the position that I’ve wanted for years, but it’s just not how I thought it would be. And you already know my boss is kind of a dick.” Ephrim ran his hand through his hair. “But, you know, good benefits and all. It’ll work for now.”

“Well then,” Throndir handed him the flowers. “I hope your day is better than just ‘for now’.” He had meant to be helpful, but talking was difficult when most of your brain power was being spent trying not to stare at someone’s lips.

Ephrim took the flowers, trying to hide his laughter. “Thanks,” he said, walking away for a moment, then turning back. “You know that didn’t make any sense, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, laughing too. “Have a good day, Ephrim.”

“You too.”

_Ephrim._

***

The third Friday, Throndir wondered what he had done to get in the universe’s good graces, being given another chance to see him.

“Ephrim!” He was utterly surprised that he was back. His outfit wasn’t as elaborate as it had been the last two weeks, but Ephrim could probably wear a paper bag and call it high fashion.

“Throndir, hi,” Ephrim smiled warmly at him, with a sense of familiarity, despite how little they knew each other.

Throndir remembered why Ephrim had come last time and frowned. “Did the daisies not do their job?”

“No no, the daisies were perfect."

“Oh good, I’m glad,” Throndir said. “Then... what brings you in here today?”

“Oh! Yes. Right. The reason why I came today is because it’s my friend’s birthday! And I wanted to get her flowers to celebrate.”

Ephrim seemed like such a thoughtful friend, but he stopped himself from saying so. “Great! Did you have anything in mind?”

“I mean, I had a few ideas, but your suggestions have been so good, I was hoping you could help me out?”

That was a request Throndir was more than happy to fulfill.

***

And just like that, Ephrim is there every Friday, grabbing flowers for his boss or his friend or a party. Throndir makes sure he’s always the one who helps him when he comes in, earning more than a few eye rolls from Adaire.

As the weeks pass, and the heavy rains of winter give way to the warm breeze of spring, Throndir gets to know a lot about Ephrim. He learns that Ephrim moved around a lot as a kid, and this is the longest he’s lived in one place in a while. He learns to tell whether or not Ephrim is in a good mood based on whether or not he’s wearing a tie (tie means meeting with the higher-ups and thus, bad mood). He also tells Ephrim a lot about himself, more than he’d ever expected to, about his love of hiking and his fucked up hometown and his big, beautiful dog Kodiak.

Adaire is convinced that Ephrim is flirting with him (“Nobody buys that many flowers, Throndir.”), but he’s not so sure. He’d like for it to be true, to be clear, but Ephrim is a corporate up-and-comer with an amazing taste in coats and Throndir is just, you know, a guy who works at a flower shop.

But once, Ephrim lingers in the shop much longer than usual, asking Throndir endless questions about the flowers. If it were anyone else, Throndir would find it tiresome, but he’s soaking up the opportunity to spend longer than his usual ten minutes a week with him. He’s behind the counter, working on the many boutonnieres and corsages that had swamped the shop.

Ephrim wandered back to the counter. “Prom season?” he asked, picking one up.

“Put that down,” he said, swatting his hand away.

Ephrim smirked, putting it down and picking up another. “Oh Throndir,” he said dramatically, “won’t you go to the dance with me?” Throndir laughed. “No wait, use this one,” Ephrim said, choosing another one. “This one will match your eyes better.” He held it up to where Throndir’s lapel would be, but of course since he wasn’t wearing a suit, Ephrim was really just leaning over the counter pressing his hand to Throndir’s chest.

Throndir looked down at Ephrim’s hand, hoping he couldn’t feel his heart pounding. He looked back up to Ephrim’s face, and oh, that made it worse. He’d never been so close to him before. His pink lips were pulled into his trademark smirk, but it fell as the moment dragged out, eyes locked.

Eventually Ephrim broke, pulling his hand off Throndir's chest, blushing. He made some excuse to leave, and Throndir said a dazed goodbye, still focusing on the moment between them.

So maybe Adaire had a point.

***

A few Fridays later, Throndir stood slumped over the register, dead on his feet, praying for a slow day.

The bell on the door chimed. “Good morning,” he heard Ephrim call, too cheery for this early hour.

He lifted his head. “Morning.”

Ephrim cocked his head, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m all right,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I volunteered to babysit my friends’ kid last night. Didn’t get a lot of sleep. Eight-year-olds are rough.”

Ephrim laughed. “That’s so sweet of you.”

Throndir smiled, buzzing inside at the kind words. “Hadrian and Rosana needed the night off. It was the least I could do for them.”

Ephrim grabbed his arm. “Well, you look like you need the day off.”

Throndir rolled his eyes. “Thanks. What’ll it be today?”

After he left, Adaire came out from the back. “Okay, I waited until your favorite customer was gone,” she teased. “Go take your break now.”

“Thank you,” he said, heading to the back to nap for fifteen minutes.

Not long after he had gotten settled, he heard the bell ring as the door opened.

“Oh. Hi.” Wait, was that Ephrim?

“I know, people other than Throndir work here, it’s shocking.”

“Always a pleasure, Adaire.” Yeah, definitely Ephrim. Throndir could hear him roll his eyes. “Is he still here?”

“He’s on break. Can I help you?”

“Can you make sure he gets this?” Adaire laughed. “I didn’t know what he would want, but I know he likes chocolate and he sure as hell looked like he needed espresso, so…” He trailed off.

“I’ll give it to him,” she said, “but I need you to know that you’re going to have to be a lot more explicit than this if you want him to get the hint.”

Hint about what?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Adaire snorted. “Suit yourself.”

The bell dinged again, presumably as Ephrim left. “Special delivery,” Adaire said, coming into the back room. “From Ephrim.” She stared at him, pointedly.

“Thanks,” Throndir said, taking the warm mocha from the coffee shop across the street into his hands. He took a sip, sweet chocolate and bitter espresso brightening the world around him. Then he looked back up at Adaire. “Why are you staring at me?”

“It’s from Ephrim.”

He took another sip. “I know, you said that.”

Adaire rolled her eyes. “Just make sure you thank him when he comes in next time, okay?” She went back out to cover the front.

Throndir smiled to himself, drinking the coffee. For the next eight minutes, he would let his mind wander and think about the man who brought him the drink: how he took his coffee, what his day would be like, how warm his hands would be to hold.

***

"Morning, Throndir!"

Throndir's heart raced in recognition of the voice. Ephrim’s visits were routine and comforting, but somehow also completely nerve-racking. He looked up from the invoices he was preparing. "Hey Ephrim! What can I get for you today, buddy?"

Ephrim approached him and opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. "I can't do this."

"Excuse me?"

"Okay, Throndir, cards on the table." He pressed his hands down onto the counter, leaning forward slightly. "I... cannot afford to keep buying these flowers. I have run out of excuses and things to buy flowers for. But seeing you every Friday is the best part of my week."

Throndir dropped the pen he was holding and, well, melted. "Ephrim, if you need money, I can help you out. You-- you don't have to pay for these."

He sighed. "No Throndir, it's not the flowers, it's--" He rubbed his eyes. "Adaire told me I was going to have to be blunt."

"Have you been talking to Adaire about me?"

He ignored the question. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing really. Why?"

He reached out, touching Throndir's hand, which instantly made red sprout across his cheeks. "Do you wanna come over? I'll make us dinner, and we can just hang out without all this pretense."

"Okay," Throndir said, smiling. "That sounds really nice."

Ephrim smiled back. "Okay." He bent over the counter, writing his address on a scrap of paper. "Come over around six?"

"It's a date." Throndir blushed. "This is a date, right?"

Ephrim cracked up. “God, you’re adorable. I’ll see you at six.” He walked out the door, bell ringing.

Throndir stood there for a moment, not entirely sure what on earth had just happened. “Uh, Adaire?” He poked his head around the corner. “Did Ephrim--”

“Yes, it’s a date,” Adaire cut him off, not even bothering to look up from her work.

***

The doorbell rang. Ephrim frantically dashed away from the stove to the door, smoothing his shirt out. He hadn’t expected that he would be this nervous. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and opened the door.

Throndir stood in the hallway, a nervous smile on his face. Ephrim suddenly realized he had never seen him out of his work uniform. He was wearing a green sweater vest over a black button up. “You look great,” Ephrim said, unable to stop himself from looking Throndir up and down again. “It’s nice to see you without an apron in the way for once.” Then he realized what Throndir was clutching.

“You brought sunflowers,” he said, the small smile breaking out into a full on grin.

“Well, yeah,” Throndir said, free hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Everybody likes sunflowers.”

And then the babbling began. “I was worried that roses would be too much for a first date but I wanted to make it clear that this was a romantic gesture, but then I was like, ‘What if he doesn’t remember?’ so I got the roses, but then I went back and--”

“Throndir.” Ephrim closed the gap between them, placing his left hand on his cheek. “They’re perfect.”

“Okay,” he breathed. Ephrim flashed back to the last time, the only time, that they’d been this close. And then Throndir did what he couldn’t have done last time: he leaned in the last few inches and kissed Ephrim. It caught him by surprise, but Throndir was soft and gentle and deliberate. Ephrim had almost expected him to smell like the flowers he had surrounded himself with, but he was warmer, richer.

Almost begrudgingly, Ephrim pulled away. “You better come inside before I burn our dinner.”

“All right,” Throndir agreed, a playful smile on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> tournesol is french for sunflower, because they turn towards the sun. isnt that cute!!
> 
> you can find me on twitter @angstcaffeine


End file.
